Free Tom Barry by Meda Ryan Page A

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To the men and women of West Cork
    who fought in their way, in their time,
    to give us the Ireland we have today

Acknowledgments
    I owe a debt of gratitude to David Willis who gave me Tom Barry’s Papers, without which this book would be incomplete. I am also indebted to John Browne, Jean Crowley, Lieut Colonel Eamonn Moriarty and Dave O’Sullivan who gave me their unique personal recordings and videos of Tom Barry.
    I am extremely grateful to Professor Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh of the National University of Ireland, Galway, for reading the manuscript, for his helpful suggestions and for his advice and his encouragement.
    As I look through my notebook of names and addresses, I notice with sadness that many of those who willingly gave information are no longer with us. But without their generosity of spirit I could not have completed this worthwhile study. A sincere word of gratitude is due to those who went out of their way to help me in my research, people like Brendan O’Neill and the late Dan Joe O’Mahony who drove me around and organised appointments; Dómhnall Mac Giolla Phoil helped to locate people, and with his wife Mary, was a constant source of encouragement, he also read the manuscript and offered helpful suggestions. Eily Hales McCarthy and her husband Gus were always at the other end of a telephone to listen to my problems.
    Jack Lane and Michael MacEvilly have been a constant source of assistance and with Séamus Lantry, Eileen Murphy and Manus O’Riordan, kept me posted on source material and publications, so that my mailbox was never dull. Brian Murphy in his unique way provided me with the necessary stimulus to continue.
    Criostóir de Baróid was always willing to offer help and advice as was Pádraig Ó Cuanacháin and Bernie Whyte. Dr T. Ryle Dwyer, Professor Eunan O’Halpin and Rena Dardis, Anvil Press, kindly supplied me with private documents, and Dr Brian Hanley gave me some source references. Sheila Barry Irlam and Gerald Barry were most helpful in putting family events into context. Seán Kelleher, Louis Whyte, Con O’Callaghan and Johnny Hayes of the Kilmichael Commemoration Committee willingly responded to my probing queries.
    As well as thanking Dan Collins, Kate O’Callaghan, Donncha Ó Dulaing, and Nollaig Ó Gadhra of RTÉ for the use of documentary material, I am also grateful to Majella Breen and Ian Lee in RTÉ Sound Archives who were courteous and generous with their time as was Barbara Durack and Pat Butler of the RTÉ TV Programme Archive Department.
    The directors and staff at all the libraries were most helpful. I sincerely wish to thank Kieran Wyse, Cork County Library who responded to my every query and was more than generous with his time, he, like Tim Cadogan and the late Pádraig Ó Maidín of the Cork County Library speedily replied to my requests. Della Murphy, National Library of Ireland was extremely helpful during my research and also Dr Noel Kissane and his diligent staff in the National Library Manuscript Department. Seamus Helferty and Kerry Holland, of UCD Archives Department and the efficient staff there, deserve special mention, as does the late Comdt Peter Young, and Capt. Victor Laing, Comdt Pat Brennan and the staff at the Military Archives, Dublin. Thanks also to the staff in the National Archives and Trinity College Archives staff. The kindness and assistance given by Patricia McCarthy, by Brian McGee and staff at the Cork Archives Institute and by Stella Cherry and